# Son cut from the team. Does mom have a case? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 10, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528 "2012-05-10T17:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/1 "2012-05-10T17:46:14Z")
[Story here.](http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/arkansas-mother-sues-district-state-constitutional-violation-son-113537254.html) Son made the team after two try-outs. After football season, there was a third try-out and 9 of 11 players were replaced. Mom is suing school district for deprivation of right to a **complete** education which (she says) includes sports participation. Naturally, the lawyers for the school district are asserting students have no right to extracurricular activities. My problem is that the student was already on the team and was used as a placeholder until presumably better athletes were available. It’s not as if they’re suing to get on the team in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/2 "2012-05-10T17:50:25Z")
You do not have a Right to be on the team. If someone better comes along, you can be cut. If you read the article, part of the mothers complaint is the child cant get college scholarships or become a pro now. Nothing says the child had a right to those potentials. This is just another entitlement attitude gone awry ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/3 "2012-05-10T17:51:12Z")
He can still play sports in a regular gym class. No case. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/4 "2012-05-10T17:55:16Z")
I tried out for my high school team. There were 15 people better than me. I didn’t complain. If, however, I am already on the team and now you want to have more tryouts because better players were tied up in another sport, I’m gonna have a problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/5 "2012-05-10T18:03:17Z")
Don’t those football players have a right to try out for the basketball team too? If I were a booster for that program, I’d expect the coach to play the best 11 athlete’s he’s got. If there are 11 other students who are better basketball players than this woman’s son, I’m dubious of his chances of getting a scholarship or pro career anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/6 "2012-05-10T18:03:59Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > If, however, I am already on the team and now you want to have more tryouts because better players were tied up in another sport, I’m gonna have a problem with it. I’d be upset if I were a student who got cut that way, but that doesn’t mean anyone did anything wrong. The coach’s job is to have the best team, and the best players are the ones who have the most right to be there. If the coach played favorites with his football players and didn’t pick the best players, there is at least grounds for complaining (if not grounds for a lawsuit). I am not sure the school can do anything about the way the football and basketball seasons are scheduled since that is going to involve a slew of other area schools, and they could look into creating some kind of rule to deal with this situation. But it doesn’t sound like grounds for a lawsuit. > [@dngnb8](#): > > If you read the article, part of the mothers complaint is the child cant get college scholarships or become a pro now. It says nothing about becoming a professional. > [@](#): > > “…the deprivation of the right to a full and complete education which includes competition in sports and consequently athletic scholarships impairs John Doe of a property right guaranteed under both the U.S. and State Constitutions.” I’m skeptical, but you’re making assumptions. She didn’t say her kid was going to be the #1 pick in the NBA draft - she said he’s losing a shot at athletic scholarships. If he was a superstar player, this wouldn’t have happened. That doesn’t mean he had no shot at a smaller scholarship someplace. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/7 "2012-05-10T18:08:43Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > Mom is suing school district for deprivation of right to a **complete** education which (she says) includes sports participation. Huh? Does she think that every student in the school should be on that team? That’d be a big team! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/8 "2012-05-10T18:13:21Z")
I really thought this was going to be about Pee Wee basketball. The kid’s a _high school student_ and mommy’s getting involved? I’d die of embarrassment if it were me, but I suppose he’s grown up hearing the sound of chopper blades. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/9 "2012-05-10T18:14:51Z")
I just remember that when I tried out, everyone tried out the same time. There were a few weeks of conditioning and the football players showed up later. Then tryouts began. I don’t remember if the FB team still had games left or not. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/10 "2012-05-10T18:15:58Z")
Spoiled, self-entitled brats. Also, their children. Nonstory. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/11 "2012-05-10T18:20:11Z")
It sucks for the people being cut, and I think the coach is a jerk for doing so, but being a jerk isn’t unconstitutional. Take it up with the school board and try to get the coach replaced, don’t start a frivolous law suit. Regarding the damages of due to losing college scholarships, I bet that if he were good enough to win a scholarship he would still be on the team. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/12 "2012-05-10T18:26:52Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > My problem is that the student was already on the team and was used as a placeholder until presumably better athletes were available. _Everybody_ is a placeholder until somebody better comes along. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/13 "2012-05-10T18:28:24Z")
This does make me wonder if the coach does this every year. If so, the family knew what it was getting into or should have known. And it’s hard not to laugh at the idea of an appeal process to a player who gets cut from a sport. Who exactly is supposed to make that decision if the coach can’t? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/14 "2012-05-10T18:30:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’d be upset if I were a student who got cut that way, but that doesn’t mean anyone did anything wrong. The coach’s job is to have the best team Is having the best team the coach’s absolute priority? I’m not familiar with the system in American schools. But if that’s the case, maybe that should be her complaint. In the end the coach should be a teacher and so the actual students should be high on their list of priorities. I’d expect those already on a team to have some advantage over those who, for whatever reason, didn’t show up to the original trials. I’d also expect some consideration to be given to those who especially want to be on the team even if they’re not necessarily the absolute best. It seems to me there should be a balance between the winning and the taking part. I know when I was at school if you wanted to be on the football (soccer) team it was mostly a case of showing an interest and not being awful, and the coach would fit you in as a sub or whatever. But sport (and in particular winning at it) really doesn’t get quite as obsessive as it seems to in American schools. But the idea that anyone can be successfully sued over this is pretty ridiculous. Surely whoever loses their place to the student in question would have an even bigger case, since presumably they’re the better player. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/15 "2012-05-10T18:32:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > _Everybody_ is a placeholder until somebody better comes along. No-when tryouts are over, they are supposed to be _over_. The other student/athletes knew when football tryouts were going to be at least a year ahead of time, and they choose to go for something else instead. Let them, and the coach, live with that choice. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/16 "2012-05-10T18:34:39Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Is having the best team the coach’s absolute priority? On the playing field, of course. In the classroom, education is the first and only priority. It may (circumstances and context depending) be kinda jerkish for the coach to run multiple tryouts in an attempt to get the best players, but students aren’t and shouldn’t be guaranteed a spot on a team unless they make the cut by merit. If a coach thinks that his/her program will be augmented by having multiple tryouts and replacing original participants, then ah well. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/17 "2012-05-10T18:37:59Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > _Everybody_ is a placeholder until somebody better comes along. At least in _Starship Troopers_, a person typically gets replaced only after they’re dead or maimed. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/18 "2012-05-10T18:39:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No-when tryouts are over, they are supposed to be _over_. Obviously they were _not_ over. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/19 "2012-05-10T18:44:47Z")
I will concede there was a valid loss here. Colleges look at extracurricular activities when they decide on admissions. Other things being equal, a student who participated on a sports team is more likely to be accepted by a college than a student who didn’t. So the issue, as I see it, is whether the student had a right to stay on the team once he had joined it. I can see the argument that places on the team should only go to the best athletes so if a better athlete becomes available, a lesser athlete should be cut to create an opening. On the other hand, there’s opportunity costs. The student may have had an opportunity to join in several different extracurricular activities. He was offered a spot on the basketball team and committed to that activity and forewent his other options. If he had known that being cut from the basketball team was a possibility, maybe he would have joined the chess club instead. I’d want to know if the policy on cutting players from the team was established and reasonably known at the time the student made the choice to join the team. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528/20 "2012-05-10T18:45:26Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Obviously they were _not_ over. > [@](#): > > Bloodman’s son, who is a minor and was not named in the suit, spent two months as part of the team after qualifying through two tryouts in August only to be replaced three months later by a member of the football team, as were nine of the team’s 11 original players. A special tryout for the football team _three months after the regular tryouts took place??_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/son-cut-from-the-team-does-mom-have-a-case/621528.md?page=2)